New member, came over from Garden Tractor Talk. It was suggested that I post here. While hardly vintage I do own an older JD lawn tractor, a 120 that I purchased used last fall with a snow blower attachment, and mowing deck. This thing has been heavily modified over the years , including the addition of a 25hp Briggs dual cylinder. Here's the situation, I live in Northwest Minnesota, and my machine has been giving me fits since spring 2022. I've had 3 different places look at it, and when returned they swear that it runs great, only for me to get it home and find out they lied. What I would like to do is find a JD enthusiast who would be willing to take a look and hopefully fix it correctly. I was thinking about getting a new lawn tractor but was told that my current attachments wouldn't fit and all would have to be replaced. Right now I am using a cheapie chineseium power smart snow blower as I needed something now, if you're from this part of the country, you will understand.... I am not a mechanic, and I don't have a truck/trailer right now, they also are too expensive right now. Can anyone help?
Greetings from NW Minnesota.
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Welcome to WFM!!
What are your issues with the B&S engine? (doesn't start, runs rough, won't rev, bogs down, etc???) Is it a Vanguard twin? Do you have any pictures of the installation/conversion?
Shops are not really set up to help you fix a tractor of that vintage -- they are better able to service the recent models. The 120 was made up to 1971, so it is 50 years old already. What is your serial number??
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I am nowhere near close to you (presently in Idaho...) but some forum members may jump in here shortly to give suggestions. Often some symptoms are possible to diagnose remotely with a good description, so don't give up on your being able to help in the solution just because you lack past experience.
Chuck
What are your issues with the B&S engine? (doesn't start, runs rough, won't rev, bogs down, etc???) Is it a Vanguard twin? Do you have any pictures of the installation/conversion?
Shops are not really set up to help you fix a tractor of that vintage -- they are better able to service the recent models. The 120 was made up to 1971, so it is 50 years old already. What is your serial number??
I am nowhere near close to you (presently in Idaho...) but some forum members may jump in here shortly to give suggestions. Often some symptoms are possible to diagnose remotely with a good description, so don't give up on your being able to help in the solution just because you lack past experience.
Chuck
Thanks for the welcome. I can see now that taking shortcuts are never good around here. My JD is an L120, not a 120. Sorry about that, the engine is a BS Vtwin 25hp. I was told the engine was swapped with a bigger on because it was needed for the 44 inch snow blower.
My current problem is that it refuses to start and the electric PTO is very erratic, sometimes it worked, other times it didn't, and even when it did work, it would cut out at random times. Before that when I would try to mow, the belt would rub against one of the steering arms and consequently blow the belt (all the shops told me that it was impossible, but I still have the 5 shredded belts in the garage. As for the engine, the valves were adjusted, the carburetor and fuel pump, and the fuel filter, fuel shut off valve, spark plugs, new flywheel, were all replaced; basically the parts canon was loaded, over the cost of several hundred dollars. The tufftorq k46 to my knowledge has never been serviced, and if I go through the cost and bother of talking someone into their care over the winter, i would like that serviced too. The last time I got it back I noticed that the clutch had the plug removed and it was hard wired with wire nuts and electrical tape.
When it ran, it ran great, so I would rather pay to get it working than buying new everything to the tune of 10's of thousands of dollars.
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Welcome to WFM.
1951 JD B, 1967 JD 110-Rf, 1969 JD 110-Sf custom, 1972 JD 110-Sf
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Welcome to the family. I'm from WI so I understand your concern to wanting/needing it to get fixed soon. That's a lot newer than what im used to working on.....3 110's 1967, 1969, and a 1972, along with a 1951 john deere b. With that that said I bought a beater x100 at an auction one time to get me by. The pto would cut in and out also. Doing some testing I found out the the 6 prong plug was bad. I was able to put a paper clip in it to " jump it" and worked great. Is that what got hacked up, and taped up on yours? Hacking and taping will make it worse letting moister in. Heat shrink connectors would've been the right thing to do. I'd also check the pto safty plug under your seat. I've heard of those going out too. I wouldn't personally suggest doing it for safety reasons but that's another plug you can jump. As for the belt sounds like something is jumping or lose. Is it a true jd belt? That's usually the #1 issue using a belt that " looks close enough" is a pulley bad, or a guide missing? Those are the things I'd start out looking at. Good luck and keep us updated .
Yes, the connection to the PTO was cut off and was twisted with wire nuts and taped. this was because it cut in and out at random intervals. This particular machine has all of the safeties disabled except for the need to make sure the "clutch" is disengaged before starting. They were all disabled when I got the machine, I did not do that.
The belt is a true JD belt, my 3rd in fact as it kept shredding itself. The pulleys have all been replaced with quality aftermarket, as have the pulley shafts going through the deck to the blades. I used Stens which as far as I know is a quality brand. JD wanted ridiculous money, and with inflation going nuts, I have to keep an eye on every penny these days.
This has been to 3 mechanics who all swear up and down when they get it that it's all fixed, it's running great, oh and BTW that will be $250. Currently I've spent close to $1000, and can't afford to keep throwing parts at this machine. Out of necessity I've purchased a cheap powersmart brand snow blower, and the best I can say is that it works, but I really miss the 44 inch blower attachment. That is when I came up with the idea of a JD restoration expert. Yes it will cost, but it will be cheaper than the $6000 for a new tractor and attachments. My current attachments won't work on the new tractor. Apologies for the rant, but this is really getting to me right now.
The belt is a true JD belt, my 3rd in fact as it kept shredding itself. The pulleys have all been replaced with quality aftermarket, as have the pulley shafts going through the deck to the blades. I used Stens which as far as I know is a quality brand. JD wanted ridiculous money, and with inflation going nuts, I have to keep an eye on every penny these days.
This has been to 3 mechanics who all swear up and down when they get it that it's all fixed, it's running great, oh and BTW that will be $250. Currently I've spent close to $1000, and can't afford to keep throwing parts at this machine. Out of necessity I've purchased a cheap powersmart brand snow blower, and the best I can say is that it works, but I really miss the 44 inch blower attachment. That is when I came up with the idea of a JD restoration expert. Yes it will cost, but it will be cheaper than the $6000 for a new tractor and attachments. My current attachments won't work on the new tractor. Apologies for the rant, but this is really getting to me right now.
1951 JD B, 1967 JD 110-Rf, 1969 JD 110-Sf custom, 1972 JD 110-Sf
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862 Posts
Still seems like an electrical or switch issue. Do you have a volt meter? If you have it on sound mode you can hear if the switch works. I'm not sure what a new harness costs and hate for you to spend more money, butba hacked up harness just doesn't seem like an answer or professional fix. As far as the deck belt I'm not sure than what I suggested or if the deck is off center or sprung.
You are correct, it was not a professional fix, especially when that "professional" fix cost me $250, with him telling me half a dozen times that it was working perfectly. As for the switch, that was the first thing I checked and it was working. I can get a new aftermarket harness for $75, and authentic JD for $200.
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Time for a zoom call! I hope you have it going by now, if not,, is it an old 70 style 120? If so your snow blower will fit all the way up to a 322, so a 140, 300, 316, 317, 318, 320, 322 all have the same mounts, movers changed between 317 and 318 up, I found the interchange chart but haven't figured out how to attach it here,,,,
I had a seat switch bypass that gave me similar trouble, it was a poor connection, and ignition switch connection, and switch, and pto connection, any and all will kill things,, as for the belt hitting a steering arm, this must be a newer model,, ?
I had a seat switch bypass that gave me similar trouble, it was a poor connection, and ignition switch connection, and switch, and pto connection, any and all will kill things,, as for the belt hitting a steering arm, this must be a newer model,, ?
No it's not going, it's sitting in an unheated garage and honestly I have no way to work on it right now. I needed a snow blower so I purchased a powersmart 24 inch snowblower, which is a whole story in itself but I won't go into that right now, lets just say it sortof does what I need. I'm thinking its about 10 years old, it has a tuff torq transmission, and originally came with a 20hp engine. The 25 was installed by the previous owner so he could use a snowblower attachment. I'm definitely up for a zoom call. Is it possible to post pictures here? I would be happy to do so.
I was able to find an outfit in Wisconsin that claims to rebuild tuff torq transmissions, and I am thinking at this point of just replacing the engine with a B&S 26HP vanguard and a new electric clutch. Yes it's a lot of money but all of that would be half the cost of a new tractor and attachments. The dealer told me all of my old attachments won't fit new tractors.
I was able to find an outfit in Wisconsin that claims to rebuild tuff torq transmissions, and I am thinking at this point of just replacing the engine with a B&S 26HP vanguard and a new electric clutch. Yes it's a lot of money but all of that would be half the cost of a new tractor and attachments. The dealer told me all of my old attachments won't fit new tractors.
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Try again, I think you need five or ten posts to be able to pm someone
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10 posts and 10 days.
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A mod probably unlocked it for you in that case.
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